deep voice
You’ve got it right baby.
~ Michael Jackson, Westhaven Ranch, ca. 1976 ~
That’s me controlling this Voice.
Many people refer to “his deep voice” and then present a concert clip where Michael speaks a bit lower than usually. However, that’s not truly his deep voice. In my opinion, Michael possesses three distinct vocal registers.
- To kick things off, we have his high-pitched, almost feminine voice.
- Next up is the smooth mid-range he employs during the spoken segments of “In the Closet” and right at the start of the “You Rock My World” music video.
- Finally, there’s his authentic deep voice, a baritone gem he kept under wraps from the public eye.
Honorable mention: A dazzling array of voice impressions. A seriously underrated and underutilized talent.
I’ve noticed that the more relaxed or annoyed he was the deeper his voice tended to be. Others suggest that the context played a role as well: he often used his natural voice in private or business settings.
I believe his high-pitched voice contributes to his non-threatening persona, but it may also stem from his struggles with body dysmorphia. He was told he sounded like a frog and wanted to avoid resembling his father.
His voice coach kept insisting he should embrace that rich, deep sound of his, but apparently, those pep talks fell flat.
Westhaven Ranch (ca. 1976) I
Source: Youtube Channel LivinofftheWall | Edit: JS
Westhaven Ranch (ca. 1976) II
‘ghosts’ Short film (1996)
Source: Youtube | Edit: JS
Guinness book of world records (2006)
That’s the medium range voice he sometimes used publically.
Ralphige Prank Call (april 2007)
Edit: JS. Michael answers the phone (being much too polite is a dead giveaway it’s him). In the end he is audibly hurt but, thinking on the fly, manages to turn it around. That’s impressive.
Barbara Walters Interview 7.9.1997
He may have a cold, he speaks distinctly deeper than usual. He seems very relaxed.
Source: Youtube | Edit: JS
NYPL ‘After the dance’ panel, Artur jafa, 2010
“This is just a brother from Indiana who’s convinced everybody he’s the black E.T. or something.”
Source: NYPL | Edit: JS
Vocal Ranges
Baritone Range
The soft-spoken high-pitched voice image is so pervasive, it is almost shocking. Fans argue on Reddit that his voice in 2000 Watts has been technically lowered, musicians explain on Youtube his voice while listening to audio that highlights Michael’s mid-range voice, arguing themselves into a knot over his Castrato-like tone, thus reaffirming his child-like nature. We are collectively conditioned to hear what we want to believe, and build our hypotheses from there. But what we hear and see is an illusion for the sake of art.
Voice Coach Session with Seth Riggs (1994):
- lowest key he sings (uncomfortable): F2
- lowest key he sings comfortable: G2
- highest key he sings comfortable: G#5 (wtf)
This is a 3-octave range.
Vocal Ranges:1https://web.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/vocal-ranges
Michael is as baritone as they come.
Vocal Styles
Castrato? Or Countertenor?
Castrato vs Countertenor:2https://vocalability.com/countertenors-vs-castrati/
A boy castrated before puberty will not have this larger larynx. This means that the castrato’s larynx is essentially the same as a typical adult woman’s. A hormonally normal man with a tenor or baritone speaking voice can only stay in the tessitura of an alto by using falsetto, and cannot usually unite this to the full chest voice. The castrato is not singing with falsetto, and therefore makes a different sound, mechanically and acoustically.
Usually. Michael is the exception. He sings Castrato-like.
This is one reason Michael was so adamant about limiting the use of his deeper voice: To keep his higher pitches as rich as they are.
The typical Countertenor range is G3–E5.3https://www.classical-music.com/features/musical-terms/countertenor,4https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countertenor
Michael also covers the Countertenor range.
If there are still questions about it: Was MJ chemically castrated?
infographic
Vocal Ranges vs Michael Jackson
Deep Voice
Michael Jackson’s baritone voice
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